Be Thankful
by SandietheMafioso
Summary: Trying Human- Longus meets Don's parents.


Title: Be Thankful

Fandom: Trying Human, which can be found at /

Pairings: Don/Longus

Author's Note: I'm writing this as Chapter 13 of the comic is being posted. This one-shot would take place pretty far down the line in the continuity.

Warnings: Interspecies romance, although they don't get up to anything naughty.

Disclaimer: Trying Human belongs to Emy Bitner, and I am in no way profiting from this work of fanfiction.

Word Count: 1,200

Summary: Longus meets Don's parents.

Be Thankful

"Of course I'll wear it," Longus said.

Don's eyebrow quirked upward. "Oh. Good then."

Don had every reason to expect a fight. There had been a week of pleading, cajoling, screaming, and even tears before Longus had agreed to go to dinner in the first place. The tears had done it, like always.

That had led them to where they were now, in Longus's apartment. Longus sat on the bed, his Trying Human circuit in place on the lapel of his suit jacket.

"Is there going to be anything I can eat there?"

"Besides my parents? I hope so. Give me your sleeve, it's unbuttoned."

Longus extended his arm, letting Don fix the cuff of his shirt. "Don't worry, I'll behave myself. It's a special occasion."

"Thanksgiving isn't really a big deal," Don said. "Most of our family lives really far away, so there's no point in traveling just for the day." He started taking out his piercings and setting them on the night table.

"If it's not a big deal, then why are we going?"

Don dropped the last silver cuff onto the table. "I told you already. Because they're pissed that I never come home anymore. So Dad insisted, and Mom said that if I had a 'special friend,' they'd love to meet him." He rolled his eyes. "Of course, they have no idea."

"Don't worry. I had no intention of revealing myself to them." Longus stood up next to Don, who had to crane his head back to make eye contact. "Bad enough you're brining home a male, no need to drop it on them that I'm a Reptoid, too."

He hadn't meant anything by the comment, but Don frowned and suggested they get going. Longus spent the bus ride wondering about the way humans raised their young. None of them seemed to be any good at it, and the process just seemed to engender bad feelings on both sides.

Don's childhood home was a two-story house in a well-to-do suburb. They were greeted by his parents, who were older than Longus had expected, but then, he wasn't quite sure how long humans were able to breed for.

"Well hello! Oh, I'm so happy you're here."

"Hi, Mom." Don leaned down to kiss his mother's cheek. She was a small thick-waisted woman in a floral dress.

"Paul, honey? Donald his here! With his friend!"

A voice from the other room called out, "Coming, dearest!" in response.

"Mom, this is Gus. Gus, this is my Mom."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Marden."

After introductions were made, they were ushered into the dining room and seated at a table that was too large for only four people.

Dinner was atrocious. Longus didn't eat poultry if he could help it, but this dried out white thing was a new low. Mr. Marden- a chubby balding man only slightly taller than his wife- had served him a beer, which was actually quite good, but he daydreamed about then ten or twelve gin and tonics he was going to have once they got back into the city.

"So, Gus," Mrs. Marden asked. "What is it you do, again?"

"I do maintenance on subway trains- I'm a mechanic."

She didn't look entirely pleased with that answer. "Is that what you went to school for?"

Don had warned him that the conversation might go this way. "I never went to school, actually. I got offered this job, and I couldn't pass up that opportunity to live in the city."

"I see." Mrs. Marden glanced at her husband, but he seemed content to let her carry out the interrogation. "Now I'm sure Donald has told me this before, but how old are you?"

"Twenty-four," Don supplied. "He's twenty-four, and I'm pretty sure I never told you that."

Longus was bracing himself for the inevitable, "And how did you two meet?" when all hell broke loose.

They might have been able to talk their way out of Gracelis and Quazky materializing out of thin air if the pair had been in human form. Things might have still been okay if the Reptoids, grappling with one another for a metallic cylinder, hadn't landed in the center of the table. Even that might have worked out if Longus's own Trying Human circuit hadn't chosen that moment to short out.

Everyone began talking and shouting at once, except for Mrs. Marden, who seemed content to scream.

"Why did you try to take it, Hue gave it to _me_, not you!"

"You weren't having much luck with it before!"

"Gracelis, what are you doing here? And what's wrong with this thing?"

"Darling, it's all right, I'll protect you- Don, what are those things?"

"Quit being so rude Dad, they're my friends."

Gracelis shrugged elegantly at Longus. "Sorry. The circuits don't last forever. I'll get another one for you." She swung around to face the Mardens. "Can you tell her to stop that? We're not here to hurt anyone, we were just spying on Longus's date a little."

It was around this time that Don took over, ushering his parents out of the room. Longus thought he heard a calming murmur about coffee. The three Reptoids turned to face each other.

"So," Longus said. "Spying? On my 'date?'"

"Sorry, dude," Quazky said, brushing cranberry sauce out of his scales. "But you hardly ever bring the kid around, and when you said you were meeting his parents, we couldn't resist."

"We meant no harm, really," Gracelis purred. "We never meant for you to know we were here. If _someone_ had just given me the teleporter, we'd be out in the bushes..."

"Hey, that's not fair," Quazky said. "I told you it was new tech, and if you hadn't been so grabby I could have figured it out."

"Hey guys?" The trio turned to see Don in the doorway. "D'you mind coming in the kitchen? I've explained everything to Mom and Dad, and they want to meet you."

Later, everyone was settled around the circular table. Gracelis and Longus were politely holding untouched coffees, while Quazky was crunching away at a pile of coffee-dampened sugar.

"So you see, you really mustn't tell anyone about us," Gracelis was saying. "Your government doesn't want our existence to be public, so if they found you spreading the word, they might do something nasty to hush you up." She smiled, being careful not to show her fangs. "And it would be such a shame, because we've all gotten so fond of Don."

"Fond of him?" Mr. Marden said.

"Right, well, Longus hasn't been so cranky all the time ever since they started s-"

"That's enough, Quazky," Longus cut in.

Don's parents looked a bit tired, but calm. "Who would have thought," Mrs. Marden said. "Aliens. Living in our city. Sitting in our kitchen."

"Dating our son," Mr. Marden said. His wife blanched, but he only chuckled.

"Look on the bright side," Don said. "Since I'm gay, you don't have to worry about any half-alien grandbabies."

Gracelis was overcome with a coughing fit. Quazky elbowed Longus, causing him to spill the coffee he's just become very interested in.

"Longus," Quazky said. "Does this mean you haven't _told_ him yet?"


End file.
